Full face wheel assembly

ABSTRACT

A full face wheel assembly comprises a full face disc and a rim. The disc is preferably cast from aluminum whereas the rim is rolled from aluminum strip stock. The full face disc comprises an outboard bead seat flange, an outboard bead seat and an outboard well side wall. The disc may also include lightener pockets or a continuous re-entrant channel adjacent the outboard bead seat. The rim comprises an inboard bead seat flange, an inboard bead seat, an inboard leg, and a deep well. The disc and rim are welded together in the deep well or bead seat regions by gas metal arc welding, electron beam welding or other suitable welding technique.

This patent application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.442,123, filed Nov. 28, 1989, now abandoned, which is acontinuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 407,983, filed Sep.15, 1989, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a full face vehicle wheels and morespecifically to full face vehicle wheel assemblies comprising a fullface cast disc and a rolled rim welded to the disc in the vicinity ofthe deep well of the rim.

Conventionally, vehicle wheels adapted for receiving pneumatic tireshave been fabricated from sheet steel. The rim is formed from a strip ofsteel which is formed into a hoop. The ends of the hoop are butt-weldedand the preform is rolled to form the inboard and outboard tire beadretaining flanges, the bead seats and the drop-center well of the rim.Within the interior of the rim is affixed a disc or spider having acentrally disposed pilot hole .and a plurality of mounting holes.Traditionally, the disc or spider was disposed at or near the axialmid-plane of the wheel.

With the advent of front wheel drive vehicles which tend to include notonly larger brake assemblies but also steering and drive componentsadjacent the front wheel hubs, it has become necessary to offset thewheel disc from the axial mid-plane position outwardly toward theoutboard bead retaining flange. Such full face wheels are the subject ofthis patent application.

Because the disc has moved outwardly to a more visible position, thewheel has taken on increased significance as a styling element of thevehicle. Because the full face wheel may be produced by such processesas casting or forging it can provide a highly stylized, decorative anddistinctive appearance. Accordingly, significant attention has been paidto not only the design but also the mechanical configuration of suchfull face wheels within the last several years.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,545,130 discloses a split rim wheelassembly wherein the rim members include a rim portion, a disc portionand a web connecting the rim and disc portions. The web is formed so asto have a convex configuration for improved strength.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,551,873 discloses a wheel assembly comprising first andsecond split rim sections which are welded together and a disc or spiderwhich is welded to the underside of the deep well bottom, formed by thetwo rim sections, in the vicinity of the weld which unites the two splitrim sections.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,311 discloses a two piece vehicle wheel assemblycomprising a full face, non-ferrous, cast disc and a ferrous, rolled orstamped rim welded together near the intersection of the outboard beadseat provided on the rim and an outboard bead seat flange provided onthe disc. The disc is cast around a ring, referred to as a weldinganchor, which is friction welded to the outboard free edge of the rim.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,736 discloses a method for uniting two cast orforged elements of a split rim vehicle wheel using an electron beamwelding technique. In one embodiment of a split rim, disclosed in thepatent, a first rim member comprises an inboard bead seat flange, aninboard bead seat, an inboard safety hump, an inboard deep well sidewall and a deep well bottom. A second rim member comprises a centraldisc portion, an outboard, deep well side wall, an outboard safety hump,an outboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat flange.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,347 discloses a two piece wheel assembly comprisingan outboard rim member and an inboard rim member including an integrallyformed disc. The outboard rim member comprises an outboard bead seatflange, an outboard bead seat, an outboard safety hump, an outboard deepwell side wall and a deep well bottom. The inboard rim member comprisesan inboard seat flange, an inboard bead seat, an inboard safety hump, aninboard leg, an inboard deep well side wall and a disc member.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,482 discloses a two piece, full face wheel assemblycomprising a stamped disc, which includes an outboard bead seat flange,and a rolled rim having an outboard free edge which is welded to thedisc at the base of the outboard bead seat flange provided thereon.According to the patent, it is preferred that the outboard free edge ofthe rim be turned radially inwardly to form, with the disc, a trench forwelding the rim and disc together. The patent discloses that the disc ismade from sheet steel.

A two piece wheel assembly comprising a forged disc and a rolled rim isdisclosed in a Wexler brochure entitled "Super Forge". The rim includesan outboard bead seat and is welded to the disc near the intersection ofthe outboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat flange provided on thedisc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a full face wheel assembly comprising a fullface cast or forged disc and a rolled rim. The full face disc comprisesan outboard bead seat flange, an outboard bead seat, an outboard safetyhump and outboard deep well side wall. The rolled rim comprises aninboard bead seat flange, an inboard bead seat, an inboard safety hump,an inboard leg, an inboard deep well side wall and a deep well bottom.The rim and disc are welded together to form a full face wheel. The discmay also include pockets or a continuous re-entrant channel disposedradially inwardly from the outboard safety hump. The invention is alsoconcerned with a method for producing a full face wheel wherein a dualrim preform is produced by known rim rolling techniques and the rolledpreform is split to produce two rims for use in producing wheelsaccording to the invention. Spin forming the rim is also disclosed. Thewheel components may be secured together by gas metal arc welding orelectron beam welding.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wheelassembly which combines the design freedom afforded by casting the facewith the higher strength to weight ratio of the rim afforded by metalforming processes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved disc forincorporation in a full face wheel assembly.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved methodfor producing full face wheels comprising cast or forged discs andformed rims.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the invention,reference being had therein to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a full face wheel according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the wheel illustrated in FIG. 1, takenalong the line 2--2;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view through a first alternateembodiment of a full face wheel of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through a second alternateembodiment of a full face wheel according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view through a rolled rim preform illustrating arim splitting operation for producing two rims for use in making fullface wheels according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a portion of a full face discaccording to the present invention illustrating weight reduction pocketsdisposed adjacent the bead seat;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a portion of a full face discaccording to a third alternate embodiment of the present inventionillustrating a continuous re-entrant channel disposed adjacent the beadseat;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view through a full face wheelaccording to a fourth alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view in half section of an apparatus for spinforming the rim portion of the full face wheel according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view through a full face wheelaccording to a fifth alternate embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a full sectional view taken through a stack of rims accordingto the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a full face wheel assembly according tothe present invention is illustrated and generally designated by thereference numeral 10. The full face wheel assembly 10 comprises anaxially outboard full face or disc 12 and an axially inboard rim 14. Asnoted above, the styling flexibility offered by full face wheel designsis great. Accordingly, the design of the disc 12 appearing in thedrawing figures should be considered illustrative and exemplary only. Itwill be appreciated that the present invention is adaptable to a broadrange of configurations of the disc 12 and the present invention shouldbe neither limited nor defined by the disc 12 illustrated herein.

The disc 12 includes a centrally disposed pilot opening 16 and aplurality apertures 18 uniformly disposed thereabout. The apertures 18receive the mounting studs (not illustrated) which extend from thevehicle wheel hub (not illustrated). The disc 12 includes a plurality ofspokes 22 or other structures which define a plurality of throughopenings 24. The through openings 24 assist in ventilation of thevehicle disc brake assemblies or other components positioned within thewheel assembly 10. The disc 12 further includes an outboard beadretaining flange 24, an outboard bead seat 26 and an outboard safetyhump 28. Finally, the disc 12 includes an outboard deep well side wall30 and an outboard portion 32 of the deep well 34.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the outboard deep well side wall 32 comprisesa plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, radially outwardlyextending webs 36 which define a plurality of lightener pockets 38. Thelightener pockets 38 significantly reduce the weight of the disc 12 andof the full face wheel assembly 10. More importantly, the weightreduction is relatively proximate the periphery of the disc 12 whichsignificantly reduces its mass moment of inertia. It will be appreciatedthat the lightener pockets 38 open inwardly and are in communicationwith the pressurized volume of air within the tire received upon thewheel assembly 10. Accordingly, the lightener pockets 38 are not exposedto the environment and do not collect debris, water and otherenvironmental hazards to which the wheel assembly 10 is subjected.

The disc 12 may be readily cast in a mold which is relatively simplecompared to the complex mold required to produce a single piece castwheel. Alternatively, the disc 12 may be forged. Preferably, the disc 12is made of aluminum, magnesium or similar lightweight, high strengthmaterial.

Turning again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the rim 14 includes an inner bead seatflange 44, an inner bead seat 46, an inner safety hump 48, a leg 50, aninner deep well side wall 52 and an inner portion 54 of the deep well.Preferably, the rim is fabricated by butt welding the ends of a strip ofaluminum formed into a hoop and shaped by suitable rolling operationsinto the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2. Again, the rim material ispreferably aluminum but may also be magnesium, or similar lightweight,high strength material.

The inwardly directed face of the disc 12 adjacent the outboard portion32 of the well 34 and the outwardly directed face of the rim 14 adjacentthe inner portion 54 of the well 34 are aligned as illustrated in FIG. 2in a suitable fixture 60. A pair of gas metal arc welding electrodes 62Aand 62B butt welds both the outside and inside of the wheel assembly 10.One of the pair of electrodes 62A is positioned on the outside of thefull face wheel assembly 10 whereas the other of the pair of electrodes62B is disposed on the inside of the wheel assembly 10. The electrodesare arranged in opposition, that is, 180 degrees apart such that theinstantaneous welding site of the electrode 62A is 180 degrees and onthe opposite side of the wheel assembly 10 from the other electrode 62B.The electrode 62A on the outside of the assembly 10 forms a weld 64Aabout the junction of the disc 12 and rim 14. The welds 64A and 64Bextend 360 degrees about the full circumference of the junction of thedisc 12 and rim 14. Alternatively, the disc 12 and the rim 14 may bewelded together by electron beam welding. Because the electron beamwelding process generates less and more localized heat, a single weldingbeam is suitable.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the first alternate embodiment of a full facewheel assembly according to the present invention is illustrated anddesignated by the reference numeral 68. The first alternate embodimentfull face wheel assembly 68 includes a disc 70 and rim 72 bothconfigured similarly to the disc 12 and rim 14 of the preferredembodiment wheel assembly 10. That is, the disc 70 includes a beadretaining flange 74, a bead seat 76, an outboard safety hump 78 and anoutboard deep well side wall 82. Similarly, the rim 72 includes an innerbead retaining flange 84, an inner bead seat 86, an inner safety hump88, a leg 90, an inner deep well side wall 92 and a deep well section94. The disc 70 also includes an inwardly axially extending shoulder 100which receives the outboard end of the deep well section 94. Acontinuous circumferential weld 102 is disposed between the insidesurface of the deep well section 94 and a radially extending face 104 ofthe disc 72 adjacent the shoulder 100. Alternatively, a continuouscircumferential weld 106 may be disposed on the outside (tire) surfaceof the deep well section 94 adjacent the lightener pockets 104. Ifdesired, both the inner circumferential weld 102 and the outercircumferential weld 106 may be utilized for improved strength andruggedness. The incorporation of the shoulder 100 facilitates alignmentof the disc 70 and the rim 72.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a second alternate embodiment of the full facewheel assembly is illustrated and designated by the reference numeral108. The second alternate embodiment full face wheel assembly 108includes a disc 110 and a rim 112. The disc 110 includes an outboardbead retaining flange 114, an outboard bead seat 116, an outboard safetyhump 120, an outboard deep well side wall 120 and a portion 122 of thedeep well. Likewise, the rim 112 includes an inboard bead retainingflange 124, an inboard bead seat 126, an inboard safety hump 128, a leg130, an inboard deep well side wall 132 and an inboard portion 134 ofthe deep well. The disc 110 also includes inner and outer welds 138A and138B which may be achieved in accordance with the above disclosurerelating to FIG. 2. The disc 110 includes lightener pockets 140 whichextend axially inwardly from the outside face 142 of the disc 110. Itwill be appreciated that the material removed to form the lightenerpockets 140 results in similar weight savings as that enjoyed withregard to the preferred embodiment wheel assembly 10 and the firstalternate embodiment 68. Since the lightener pockets 140 are visiblefrom the outside of the full face wheel 108, various aesthetic patternsand appearances may be achieved in this manner.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a method for producing the rims 14 will now bediscussed. A rim 150 is formed, as noted previously, by forming a flatstrip of metal such as aluminum, magnesium or other material into a hoopand butt welding the ends together. The hoop is then roll formed intothe rim 150 illustrated in FIG. 5. The rim 150 includes inner and outerbead seat flanges 152, a pair of bead seats 154, a pair of safety humps156, a pair of legs 158, a pair of deep well side walls 160 and wellportions 162. The rim 150 is positioned in a fixture (not illustrated)which rotates the rim 150 about its axis. An outside roll cutter 166 andan inside roll cutter 168 are mounted upon spindles 170 and 172,respectively. The roller cutters 166 and 168 engage the preform rim 150at its axial mid-point which is the middle of the deep well 162. Theroll cutters 166 and 168 split the rim 150 into two identical rimportions 174A and 174B. Alternatively, and if desired, the plane ofoperation of the roller cutters 166 and 168 may be shifted axially toproduce rim portions 174A and 174B having distinct axial dimensions foruse in various applications.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the rim portions 174A and 174B may be nested.By so doing, the space occupied by any given rim portion 174A or 174B isreduced to less than half. Accordingly, the number of rims 174A and 174Bthat may be stored in a given volume is at least doubled or the storagespace occupied by a given number of rims may be reduced by at leastone-half. Because of the reduced volume of the components,transportation costs may be reduced as well.

Turning now to FIG. 7, a third alternate embodiment disc 180 isillustrated. The third alternate embodiment disc 180 includes an outerbead retaining flange 182, a bead seat 184, a safety hump 186 and aportion of the deep well 188. The face of the disc 180 may define spokes190 and apertures 192 to provide any desired decorative, aestheticpattern. In the third alternate embodiment disc 180, the webs 36 of thelightener pockets 38 illustrated in FIG. 6 have been removed and alightener channel 194 extends continuously around the disc 180 below,that is, radially inwardly from the bead seat 184 and the safety hump186. Through the elimination of the webs 36 the weight reduction isgreater still. The moment of inertia of the third alternate embodimentdisc 180 is also further reduced. If desired, a continuous lightenerchannel or pocket 194 may open to the outside, that is, toward the faceof the disc 180 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4 and be closed in thedirection of the bead seat and deep well portion 188.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a fourth alternate embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated and generally designated by the referencenumeral 192. The fourth alternate embodiment 192 includes a disc 194 anda rim 196. The disc 194 includes an outer bead retaining flange 200 anda portion of the outer bead seat 202. The rim 196 includes an inner beadretaining flange 206, an inner bead seat 208, an inner safety hump 210,a leg 212, a deep well section 214, an outer safety hump 216 and aportion of the outer bead seat 218. The disc 194 and the rim 196 aresecured together by an outer peripheral weld 220A and an innerperipheral weld 220B, preferably accomplished as described above withreference to FIG. 2. Alternatively, the welds 220A and 220B may beaccomplished by single electron beam welding. In order to ensure an airtight seal between the tire bead and bead seat portions 202 and 218adjacent the outer weld 220A, it may be desirable to machine, grind orotherwise modify the weld bead 220A to conform smoothly to the bead seatportions 202 and 218. In the fourth alternate embodiment wheel assembly192, the inside outboard surface 222 of the well 214 may be readilymachined or finished by other decorative or aesthetically pleasingprocesses such as painting or polishing.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, a fifth alternate embodiment of a fullface wheel assembly is illustrated and generally designated by thereference numeral 230. The fifth alternate embodiment full face wheelassembly 230 may be similar to either the preferred embodiment wheelassembly 10 or one of the alternate embodiments disclosed above.Accordingly, the fifth alternate embodiment wheel assembly 230 includesa disc 232 having an outer bead retaining flange 234, a bead seat 236, asafety hump 238, a deep well side wall portion 240 and a portion of tiledeep well 242. A rim 244 includes an inner bead retaining flange 246, aninner bead seat 248, an inner safety hump 250, a leg 252, a deep wellside wall portion 254 and a portion of the deep well 256. The inner leg252 may be extended axially by spin forming to widen the axial spacingbetween the bead seats 236 and 248 and the bead retaining flanges 234and 246 in order to adjust tile width of the fifth alternate embodimentwheel assembly 230 to accept a wide range of tire sizes. This isaccomplished by engaging the rim 244 in a fixture 260 of a spin formingmachine. The fixture 260 securely grips the rim 244 and rotates it aboutits axis. A spin forming idler wheel 262 then engages the outside faceof the rim 244 in the region of the leg 252. Through multiple formingpasses, the spin forming idler wheel 262 thins and axially extends therim 244 to any desired width. The rim width presented in FIG. 10 ismerely illustrative. The disc 232 and the rim 244 are secured togetherby a weldment 258 which may be like or similar to any of the weldconfigurations discussed above. It will be appreciated that this spinforming technique facilitates the fabrication of a variety of wheelassemblies 230 having various rim widths from a rim 244 initially havinga single, standard width.

It will be appreciated and understood that the above described preferredand alternate embodiments of the full face wheel, disc and rim accordingto the present invention may be selected and combined to form numerousvariations. That is, a certain weld location may be combined with acertain lightener pocket configuration and rim arrangement to formcombinations other than those specifically described herein. It shouldbe understood that such variations and combinations are an integral andrecognized aspect of this invention and wholly within the scope of thispatent.

The foregoing disclosure is the best mode devised by the inventors forpracticing this invention. It is apparent, however, that methods andapparatus incorporating modifications and variations will be obvious toone skilled in the art of full face vehicle wheels. Inasmuch as theforegoing disclosure is intended to enable one skilled in the pertinentart to practice the instant invention, it should not be construed to belimited thereby but should be construed to include such aforementionedobvious variations and be limited only by the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

We claim:
 1. A full face wheel comprising, in combination,a castoutboard disc having an outer face and an inner face and including anoutboard tire bead retaining flange, a center portion substantiallyaligned with and extending generally radially inwardly from saidoutboard tire bead retaining flange, a plurality of mounting openingsdisposed in said center portion, a first circumferential wall extendingaxially inwardly from said inner face for receiving an outer tire bead,an outboard safety hump disposed on said first wall and a secondcircumferential wall spaced radially inwardly from said firstcircumferential wall and extending axially inwardly from said inner faceand terminating in an inwardly directed edge, said first and said secondcircumferential walls defining a circumferential channel therebetween, aformed inboard rim including an inboard tire bead retaining flange, aninboard tire bead seat, an inboard safety hump, a well portionterminating in an outwardly directed edge aligned with and disposedadjacent said inwardly directed edge, and at least one circumferential,circular weldment extending between said edges and securing saidoutboard disc to said inboard rim.
 2. The full face wheel of claim 1including an inside and outside circular weldment extending between saidedges.
 3. The full face wheel of claim 1 further including a pluralityof radially disposed webs extending between said first and said secondcircumferential walls.
 4. The full face wheel of claim 1 furtherincluding a plurality of decorative openings in said center portion.